Your thermostat has been set to and is reading a steady 70 degrees. Your family room, however, feels a little on the cooler side, while your bedroom upstairs is stuffy and much warmer.

Frustrating? Of course. But not unusual. Your HVAC thermostat can only read and adjust to the temperature of the air directly around it, and various factors can lessen or increase the amount
of cooled air reaching the rest of your home. If the discrepancies are not allowing your space to be comfortable, try making some of these changes to even out the temperature of your home.

1. Keep vents clear of furniture, debris, and other items. Even a small side table can block the flow of cooled air into the room. With all vents open and clear you’ll experience better air flow and more consistent temperatures.
2. Have your vents cleaned. In addition to removing dust, mold, pollen, and other allergens from your air, a good cleaning could remove blockages that are preventing the full supply of cool air to reach a certain room or vent.
3. Check for leaks in ducting. While you have an HVAC tech cleaning your ducts, have them look for cracks and holes in your ducts. Even a small gap can result in the loss of precious cool air.
4. Close off unwanted vents. Have a room that you barely use, or that you don’t mind keeping slightly warmer? Block off the vent and allow the cool air to redirect to spaces
   that need it more. You can replace your vents with solid covers for a permanent solution, or purchase magnetic vent blockers for temporary or seasonal fixes.
5. Keep your HVAC fan set to “on”. Most people have their thermostat fan function set to “auto,” assuming the system will know best. However the auto setting simply times the
   fan to run at the same time as your air conditioner, which means it shuts off as soon as the temperature set has been reached. When you switch to “on” the fan will continue to run and push that new cool air through your home, helping continue to lower the temperature in chronically warmer spaces.
6. Insulate your attic. A poorly insulated attic can suck your cooled air away from living spaces. Make sure you have the proper amount of quality insulation to ensure you aren’t spending money to cool unnecessary space.
7. Upgrade to zoning. For the ultimate in even cooling, talk to a Madsen tech about putting in a zoned HVAC system. With zoning your second floor or other designated space is monitored with its own thermostat and cooled by its own outdoor condenser, allowing you to set different floors or rooms to different temperatures or give your warmer second floor the extra dose of cool air it needs.